The Last Bullet
by DragonDeity
Summary: Raiden, a now retired hero, finds himself called back into the line of duty.
1. Reminiscing

Chapter 1

Reminiscing 

The sound of the swords clashing against each other was intense enough to be heard from a block away. But still they fought. Two epic warriors locked in battle. Raiden wondered briefly how he had gotten to this point. 

Almost 24 hours ago, an offshore cleanup facility called Big Shell was seized by terrorists. As fate would have it, they took it over the same day a government inspection tour went through it. Among the hostages was the President of the United States. SEAL Team 10 was brought in to stop the terrorists and recover the President. Little did they know that had a friendly operative. His name was Jack. Codename Raiden. 

Raiden infiltrated the Big Shell by swimming underneath it, through the fence surrounding it. He was surprised, however, when he found a brand-new hole cut through the oil fence. He swam through it, and when he surfaced, there was no one around. He went through the door across from him. As he turned the valve, he heard the sounds of a struggle behind the door. When the door was opened, an unconscious guard lay on the ground in front of Raiden. He ducked out of sight until the guard was gone. Raiden went into the next room, the elevator room, and found it rising. A man in a gray suit was on it.

Later, SEAL Team 10 was completely obliterated by a group of people known as Dead Cell. Two members had completely killed them all. The first was a living nightmare. A true vampire named Vamp. The second was a dark-skinned woman named Fortune. Amazingly, any bullet shot at her missed completely. She used her massive rail gun to wipe out the remainders of the SEALS as Vamp took the President inside the Shell 1 Core. 

Raiden went about his mission. He met up with the last remainder of the SEALS, who called himself Iroquois Pliskin. But Raiden suspected something about him was different than what he told. Many events happened over the next few hours. The bomb disposal expert the SEALS had brought in had died in an explosion when a bomb trap went off. Raiden met up with a ninja who called himself Mr. X and Deepthroat. This ninja gave Raiden an enemy B.D.U, which Raiden used to sneak into the Shell 1 Core. There, by talking to a Secret Service Agent named Richard Ames, Raiden found the President had been moved to Shell 2. But a man named Revolver Ocelot had stopped Raiden's inquiries. Richard Ames mysteriously passed away immediately after that, leaving Raiden to try to escape. 

Luckily for him, the ninja showed up at that point, and helped him. Raiden ran. As he came to Shell 2, he found himself on the connecting bridge, where a man dressed in a black cloak awaited him. Pliskin and his friend, Otacon, were flying in a Kasatka helicopter above. The man in the cloak revealed himself Plisken's brother. The man was called Solidus Snake. Pliskin was Solid Snake, the legendary hero of Shadow Moses.

Solidus got inside a Harrier Jet Plane, piloted by Vamp. Snake threw down a Stinger Missile Launcher for Raiden, and Raiden combated the Harrier. Soon, the Harrier went down. As it went down, a massive shape arose from the water. Metal Gear RAY. The current ultimate weapon in the world. And it was already active. Vamp escaped, but Solidus was led to a fate unknown.

Later, Raiden found the President, who told him that the RAY wasn't the Metal Gear Ames had told him to watch out for. They were standing in the Metal Gear. This new Gear was called Arsenal Gear, armed with purified hydrogen bombs and protected by mass-produced RAYs. The President was shot and killed by Revolver Ocelot. His last orders to Raiden were to stop Arsenal. Raiden soon found himself trying to find the last surviving computer programmer of Arsenal. The only one who could stop it. She was Emma Emmerich, Otacon's step sister. But she was guarded by Vamp. Raiden fought Vamp in a powerful duel. But Vamp found himself unworthy of Raiden's skill, and Vamp died in a special pool of water, contained with a substance that would never allow him to rise again.

Raiden found Emma. He led her to the Shell 1 Core so that she could stop Arsenal. Unfortunately, the only way across was on top of the oil fence. Raiden and Snake covered Emma as she walked across with their sniper rifles. She was almost across when Vamp jumped up from the water behind her. He took a knife to Emma, and started cutting her. Raiden quickly aimed his sniper rifle, and shot Vamp in the head repeatedly. He fell back to the water. This time, for good.

But Emma was mortally wounded. Snake grabbed her and rushed her to the Shell 1 Core, Raiden in pursuit. When Raiden got there, she was lying on the floor, close to death. Snake put in the disk that Emma made that would stop Arsenal. But the virus upload stopped at 90%. Emma then died.

Otacon left to evacuate the hostages. Snake and Raiden were wondering how to get into Arsenal, when the ninja popped up again. The ninja revealed herself to be Olga Gurlukovich, the leader of the army patrolling the Big Shell. When Raiden realized Snake betrayed him. He made a move for his gun, but Olga knocked him out.

When Raiden woke up, he found himself naked on a platform. In front of him were Revolver Ocelot and Solidus Snake. Raiden discovered that he was a child soldier of Solidus's army back in the civil war of the 80's. Solidus and Ocelot left him and Olga freed him from his containment, telling him Snake needed to betray him to get inside Arsenal. Snake had all of his equipment. Raiden ran through Arsenal to get to Snake. Tengu ninja soldiers, powerful acrobatic ninjas, patrolled the hallways. Raiden sneaked past them, and found Solid Snake. Raiden quickly dressed himself up in his Skull Suit, and Snake gave Raiden a blade, the same blade that Olga used.

Raiden and Snake were the only hope left to stop Arsenal Gear. They ran through the hallways, and were quickly enveloped in an intense gunfight with Tengu soldiers. Eventually, they found themselves in a room right beneath the roof of Arsenal. But that's when Fortune decided to make her appearance. Fortune believed Snake had called her father, which he claimed they didn't. Raiden started climbing up the ladder towards the roof as the sounds of bullets and electricity from the rail gun echoed beneath him.

When there, he was greeted by Solidus. Solidus gave him a 'worthy opponent'; the opponent being the 25 mass-produced Metal Gear RAYs. Raiden fought them with his Stinger Missile Launcher, and destroyed all but three. He was too exhausted to go on. Just as they were about to finish him, Olga came in and protected him. Realizing what she was Solidus jumped in the fray and killed Olga himself. Just before her death, Olga told Raiden that he must live,

Two years before, Olga gave birth to her child. But the secret organization known as the Patriots stole her child. Raiden's inner nanomachines were connected to the baby's life. If Raiden died, the baby died. 

Solidus was about to let the RAYs continue when they started to act funny. The virus was kicking in. Solidus single-handedly destroyed them. Fortune came up, Snake in her custody. Solidus, however, revealed that the only reason Fortune was even here was so that she could steal Arsenal. It was revealed that Solidus had told Ocelot to give her that idea, so he could test her judgement. Ocelot revealed he worked for the Patriots. As Ocelot betrayed and was about to destroy them all, something happened to him. He was clutching his arm, and kept on uttering the word 'Liquid'. Amazingly, his arm seemed to grow muscles, and Ocelot's voice changed. It turned out that Snake's third brother, Liquid Snake, whom Snake had supposedly killed at Shadow Moses, lived on through Ocelot's arm. Liquid tried to destroy them all as he controlled the last operable RAY unit. Fortune deflected the missiles, but soon died from her own wounds. Snake broke free of his handcuffs and chased after Liquid, diving after the RAY, which flew into the water. This left Raiden and Solidus alone.

Arsenal Gear started to move into the heart of Manhattan, but finally crashed into Federal Hall. Raiden and Solidus were propelled onto its roof. Solidus revealed that he wanted the names of the leaders of the Patriots so that he could kill them. The only way he knew to get this was to kill Raiden. Stored in Raiden's nanomachines was the information. But Raiden needed to stay alive, to keep Olga's baby and Raiden's girlfriend, who was under the custody of the Patriots, alive. Just before the fight, Solidus revealed to Raiden that he killed Raiden's parents. Solidus threw Raiden his sword. Solidus drew his own double blades. In a matter of moments, these two warriors were locked in an epic swordfight. 

Raiden ducked beneath a quick thrust of Solidus's sword, and slashed at Solidus's armored stomach, to no avail. Raiden blocked one slash, and was kicked down by Solidus's foot. Raiden rolled out of the way before Solidus killed him, and Raiden ran away from Solidus for a bit. The two warriors glared at each other ferociously. Raiden and Solidus both blocked each other's slashes, before Raiden jumped out of the way of one slash, letting Solidus fly by him. Raiden used this to slash Solidus's spine.

Solidus stumbled to the edge of Federal Hall, before turning and looking at Raiden one last time. He fell, crumbling at the foot of the George Washington statue at the base of Federal Hall. Solidus reached up for something that could help him, but there was nothing. Solidus Snake was dead.

That was three months ago.


	2. Retired Hero

Chapter 2

Retired Hero

Jack was sitting on the edge of his bed, his wife, Rose, right next to him. He looked at her adoringly, a smile in his eyes. He remembered all that he had to go through those three months ago to save her and Olga's child. He stood up, dressing in blue jeans and a white T-shirt. He moved to his kitchen, and got his breakfast.

He was again bored.

In fact, he had been bored for the past three months. He didn't think he would ever have the excitement he had three months ago in his life again. But he was following the orders of Solid Snake. He had to stay alive, or Rose and Olga's baby would die. He was a retired hero. Jack didn't think that anyone in the country, save for only a few people, knew that he had saved their lives. Everyone knew Solid Snake was the hero of Shadow Moses. All Jack had was a mystery at who destroyed the Big Shell and crashed a giant metal object into Federal Hall. Arsenal Gear still hadn't been completely removed. Luckily, when police figured out how to open the thing, they found Sons of Liberty insignias all over it…so they were busted. The hydrogen bombs inside Arsenal didn't help their case either.

Jack looked over at the glass casing on the wall. Inside of it was the High Frequency Blade Snake had given to him. Such memories that blade held. Jake looked away, into his empty cup of coffee. As much as he hated it, he was a retired hero. He had been fighting since he was just a little kid. No more of that for him. Now, it was just staying alive and waiting for his child to be born. And it wasn't even that hard to stay alive. The most danger he had been in in the past three months was a gang of five people encountered him. He had single-handedly managed to dispatch of all five of them in a matter of moments.

Jack walked over to the sink to put in his cup, when the telephone rang. Jack dropped the mug, and picked the telephone up on the fourth ring.

"Jack Willow speaking." Jack said into the receiver. A harsh voice spoke on the other line.

"Raiden? Is that you?"

"Snake?" Jack whispered. He didn't want Rose to hear. "What? What's the matter?"

"I, uh…I need your help."

"Yeah, sure, anything."

"Come to Federal Hall. Now." The click of the line ending was heard. Jack put the telephone back, and leaned against the counter. Federal Hall?

A few hours later, Jack was waiting, leaning on the wall of the monstrous building, keeping his back to the statue of George Washington. It was there that his foster father had fallen to his death. Jack would rather not be reminded of that. He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, making Jack jump, and spin around. He grasped a hold of the arm that touched him, until he looked into the eyes of the man dressed in a coat.

"Snake." Jack said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Don't be so jumpy, kid." Snake said, a small chuckle emanating from his mouth. "You're fine."

"Why did you want to see me?" Jack asked, getting straight to the point.

"Like I said, I need your help…come with me." Solid walked over to the statue, Raiden following behind him. Snake stopped suddenly, at the exact point that Solidus Snake had made contact with the pavement. Snake pointed to something hidden in the crack where the pavement ended and the statue began. Jack crouched down, questioningly, and picked it up. It was a small note.

"What…?" Jack started to ask, but Snake finished the sentence for him.

"It dropped from Solidus' suit when he fell. I only just found it." Jack opened it up, reading it.

"141.44." Jack read aloud. "Sounds like a Codec frequency."

"Exactly," Snake replied. "I tried contacting them on mine…I didn't get static, but I didn't get an answer either." Jack nodded.

"So, why do you need my help?"

"Otacon managed to track the location of the receiver. I went to have a look…only to find it's in a Marine base. It's one of the best defended in the country. This means that I need help. Namely, yours." Jack stared at him for a moment.

"I thought you said to stay alive."

"Whatever Solidus wrote down, it was worthy of his attention. Solidus was King in his own mind, so not much could grip his attention. Whatever is on the other line of frequency 141.44, it's important. Important enough for you to break your promise to stay alive."

Jack nodded. It didn't add up. A Codec frequency hidden in Solidus Snake's suit tracked to a heavily guarded Marine base. Unless…

"You don't suppose Solidus knew that something about the Patriots was in that base?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Possibly." Snake replied, nodding his head. "Are you in or out?" Jack weighed his options. He could continue to stay alive and be bored out of his mind. Or he could risk his life for excitement, and to figure something out about the man that killed his parents. There wasn't much of a choice for Jack.

"Count me in." 


	3. Promise

Chapter 3

Promise

"You must…stay alive…" Olga's words echoed through Jack's mind. Then, there was the sound of a gunshot. And Olga Gurlukovich lay dead on the floor. Jack walked into his apartment, and found Rose sitting on the couch.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"I was…with a friend." Jack walked over, and sat down next to her.

"A friend? Jack, you haven't spoken to anyone but me for the past three months! Who could you possibly…" Rose looked into Jack's eyes. She suddenly quivered with fear. "Did you talk to Solid Snake?" she asked timidly. Jack looked away. "You talked to Snake. I thought that he was gone from our lives! I don't want to lose you, Jack…"

"You're not going to lose me, Rose. I'm fine…it's just that…" Jack looked at her. "Snake has asked me to help him with something…something important."

"It's those damn Patriots again, isn't it?" Rose asked, standing up. "Jack, I thought you were done fighting! What about our baby?"

"There's still six months until he'll be born! I'll have died of boredom by then! Rose…" Jack stood up, and took her hands in his. "Listen. This is going to be possibly my only chance at finding out more about Solidus and the Patriots. I don't want Olga's baby to die because of my ignorance." Jack looked into her eyes, still suppressing his secret. The AI onboard Arsenal Gear had told him that if he died, not only would Olga's baby died, but so would Rose. Jack hadn't told her that yet…he didn't want her to die. Jack would fight as much as he possibly could just to keep her alive.

"But Jack…" A tear flowed freely from Rose's eye. "How do I know that you won't come home alive? It was hard enough praying that you would come home from the Big Shell. I don't want to live through that again! Listening to your voice over that Codec, hearing gunshots, explosions, hearing death after death after death. And constantly, I thought 'was Jack shot by that? Was Jack caught in that explosion? Did Jack die?' There is no way in hell that you will let me live through that again. It was a nightmare!" Rose ran away from Jack, and looked out the window. Her tears were audible. Jack sighed, and walked up to her, embracing her in a hug from her back.

"Rose…I know that it's important to you that I stay here with you and stay alive. But this is important to me. I still have nightmares about fighting as a child soldier. Now, I have one shot about putting those nightmares of mine to rest. Please, Rose." Rose turned to look at him, her eyes red with tears. Jack looked on the verge of tears as well. "Just let me do this one thing. This is something that I need to know. I can finally put aside everything that happened to me on the Big Shell. I can finally live a peaceful life with you." 

Rose stared at Jack hard. They were locked in a staring contest of sorts, until finally, Rose looked away. She sniffled.

"Jack…I love you."

"I love you too, Rose."

"If I let you go, you must promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You have to promise me that you'll come back alive."

"I promise." Jack said without hesitation. He gripped Rose tightly, and embraced her in a kiss.


	4. Unknown Threat

Chapter 4

Unknown Threat

"Hey, Raiden. Pleased to see you." A voice rang from the shadows as Jack walked into the Philanthropy Headquarters. 

"Hey, Otacon." Jack said, squinting through the darkness. He finally found Otacon sitting in a chair in front of a computer. He was wearing his usual white lab coat and glasses, typing softly on the keyboard. "What are you doing?"

"He's trying to find exactly where in the military base the frequency came from." Snake's voice emanated from the shadows, as he stepped out behind Jack. "So you're in?"

"I'm in." Jack looked at the monitor. It seemed that Otacon had managed to find a blueprint of the entire base.

"This doesn't make any sense," Otacon said. "It's almost as if that frequency was just to taunt us. I've managed to narrow it down to three areas in this base. But I can't get it down any more than that. I honestly think that there's more than one Codec in there. But what worries me the most is that one hour ago, there was only two locations. That means that the source is multiplying." Snake walked up closer, and leaned in to look at the monitor.

"What do you suppose that means?" Snake asked.

"It could mean a number of things," Otacon replied. "It could mean there's a glitch in the program. Or it could mean that there really are three Codecs in there."

"Could that mean that an infiltration is going on in the base?" Jack asked.

"Possibly. But most likely not. I doubt that an infiltrator would spend three hours just to get three people in there."

"Well, not all of the soldiers would be wearing Codecs." Snake finished. There was a sudden pause in the room. The chance of enemies having infiltrated the Marine base just jumped from very low to very high. 

"Well, I'll try to hack into the security system. See if I can see these supposed infiltrators through the security cameras." Otacon resumed typing. Snake motioned Jack to follow him over to a sofa. They both sat down.

"So…you have everything ready?" Snake asked, a feeble attempt at conversation.

"Yeah." Jack showed him his bag that he had been carrying. In it was the Skull Suit that Raiden had worn at the Big Shell, along with his SOCOM pistol and his High Frequency Blade. "Snake…what if the base really is being infiltrated?"

"That means that the danger level has rapidly increased. It would mean that we wouldn't have to worry about not being caught, but now we have to worry about staying alive. But remember that Marine base is far too protected. It's on an island surrounded by sharks. There are turret guns all around the perimeter of the base. Anti-aircraft missiles, torpedoes…it's the perfect fortress. It has been built for seven years, and it has yet to be successfully infiltrated." Jack nodded. "But…" Snake continued. "That doesn't necessarily mean that…say, a Metal Gear could get in." Jack and Snake looked at each other. Metal Gear. The ultimate weapon. Jack had fought over twenty of them on the Big Shell.

"Hey, you guys…you better come look at this." Otacon called from the computer. Jack and Snake got up from the sofa, and walked over to the monitor. Jack noticed that there was a hint of fear in his voice. They both looked at the monitor. There were several screens scattered around the desktop. Otacon had successfully hacked into the security system, it seemed. Otacon pointed to one particular screen on the bottom left of the monitor. "Look at this. That's a Marine patrolling a hallway. Now, skip ahead five minutes…" the Marine suddenly disappeared. Jack looked at it questionably. 

"Are there any other cases like this?" Jack asked. Otacon nodded, and pointed to another screen. Two Marines were guarding a heavy door. Then, there was a small static image displayed on screen, and the Marines disappeared. 

"Hey, what's that?" Otacon asked to no one in particular. He looked in closer to the screen that was just played, and zoomed in. He replayed it, in slow motion. But he wasn't looking at the Marines. He was looking at the side of the image. Snake and Jack suddenly saw what he was looking for. It was an arm. An arm, covered in camouflaged clothing, popped around the corner. It was carrying a gun. As soon as it appeared, it and the two Marines disappeared.

"Somebody changed the videos at the marine base?" Snake asked.

"Seems that way…" Otacon replied. "Wait, what?" Suddenly, every screen, now devoid of the usual patrolling Marines, came back, the Marines with it. 

"They're back…" Jack said.

"No, they're not." Snake shook his head. "Somebody's managed to take over the base."

"But how?" Otacon asked.

"I don't know how they managed to get in, but whoever did this knew what he was doing. Otacon, show me what the status on…that camera was." Snake pointed to a random camera screen. Otacon punched in a few keys. A small screen popped up next to it. It showed that the energy running through it was at its maximum. "Okay, now show the status of it ten minutes ago." Otacon did as he was told, and the status screen changed to show that the energy was almost completely out. "I knew it," Snake confirmed. "They knew exactly what they were doing. Judging by that camouflaged arm that we say, the infiltrators had their soldiers dress up like Marines. The cameras in this base are top of the line, but they use up their energy quick. Every few hours, the cameras have to go offline for a few minutes, showing the screen that we saw with no Marines. Of course, security becomes even tighter during that time."

"Are you suggesting that these terrorists dressed up like Marines, waited until the cameras went offline, and then attacked?" Jack asked.

"Exactly." Snake replied. "Every viewing screen in that base just has that empty screen pop up when the energy runs out. The terrorists knew this, waited until that exact time, and took out the Marines. Just before the cameras came back, they hid the bodies, and pretended to be the Marines that disappeared. Which means that we're the only ones that know of their existence."

"But you said that security got tighter." Jack said. "There are too many impossible factors for these terrorists to just plow through."

"You're right. But somehow, these guys did it."

"Maybe an inside agent?" Otacon asked. The group was silent for a while again.

"Well, whatever the case, we can't stay here any longer." Snake said. "Before, it was just that we wanted to find out what that frequency was. Now, we have even more of a reason to check it out. Solidus knew these people, whoever they are. I suggest we infiltrate the base as well. We can find out who these guys are, why they wanted to take over the base, and take them out."

"Snake, if these people managed to take out an entire Marine base, don't you think that we're a little outnumbered?" Jack asked. Snake chuckled.

"Nothing's impossible." He said.


	5. First Encounter

Chapter 5

First Encounter

Raiden stepped out of the van that brought him and Snake to the end of the mainland. You could just dimly see the Marine base, if you looked through binoculars. Raiden and Snake had both changed into their Skull Suits. Snake looked across to the base through his Scope, a special type of binoculars.

"Looks normal on the outside…" he said. "Who knows what's going on in the inside." Raiden and Snake both felt a buzzing sound in their ears. It had been a while since Raiden had heard this. Otacon was contacting them via Codec. Both Snake and Raiden touched their earlobe, and they were engaged in a Codec conversation. Codec was a revolution in espionage. It was the 21st century equivalent of the radio. Codec allowed you to hear and speak with someone without anybody hearing you at all. It was almost like telepathy.

"Alright Snake and Raiden, listen up. How you're going to infiltrate the base is going to be a very tricky thing. It has to be precise. In the back of the van, inside a chest, is some equipment." Snake nodded to Raiden. Raiden walked over to the back of the van, and opened the chest.

"Scuba gear…" Raiden said over the Codec. He shifted through the contents of the box. "Um…what are these, Otacon?" Raiden had stumbled upon two small consoles that looked like they could be attached to a belt. They looked almost like pagers.

"Oh. That's a small invention of mine. This way, you'll be able to infiltrate the base via water access. See, there are small holes scattered around the bottom of the base. This is where waste is released. Now, the Marines know that this is an easy entry point. So, they built up defenses, such as torpedoes. As technology advanced, they were able to distinguish between fish and humans so that the torpedoes didn't actually fire. Now, with this device, you attach it to your belt. When it's attached, it sends a signal through your internal nanomachines. Whenever radar picks you up, it will just see you as a fish. With this attached, you shouldn't have any problems."

"So, we're just supposed to swim all the way out there?" Snake asked.

"Oh, no. Raiden, look next to the box." Otacon told him. Raiden pushed the box out of the way. 

"An inflatable raft." Raiden told Snake.

"Exactly. Just blow it up, and ride out there." Otacon replied.

"How far can we go before they pick us up?" Snake asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have your signal back here. I can tell you the exact moment before your raft goes too far. Good luck guys. Otacon, out." Raiden brought out the box, and Snake brought out the raft. He hooked it up to an air machine, and air started pumping through the raft. Raiden started pulling some stuff out of the box, and handing them to Snake.

"Oxygen tank…fish thingie…" Raiden handed these to Snake. Soon, the raft was full of air. Snake took it off, and put the machine back in the van.

"Let's go." Snake said. He pushed the raft out in the water. Both Raiden and Snake got in the raft, and started rowing out to the base. They had been rowing for a few minutes, when Otacon called them up again.

"Alright guys, stop rowing. You're just about to come up on their radar. Turn on your devices, and swim the rest of the way." Raiden and Snake both switched on their camouflage devices, and put on their scuba gear. They gave each other the thumbs-up sign, and fell backwards into the water. Raiden looked hard through his scuba mask. There were many fish here. Raiden couldn't see any sharks, so they were in luck. Snake was swimming a little bit ahead of him, which Raiden didn't really mind. He couldn't believe that only a few hours ago, he was complaining about how boring his life was. It seemed like it would take a sharp turn for the better.

Eventually, the bottom of the base came into sharp focus. Raiden could barely see the holes around the base, but they were definitely there. That's when Raiden saw a shark. 

The shark was swimming around close to the base. Snake started to swim lower, trying to avoid it. Raiden followed. But it was too late. The shark started to swim closer to them. Raiden was not too fond about fighting sharks. He was very careful about not scratching his leg on protruding coral. He didn't want to attract it. Snake, however, wasn't so lucky. Raiden heard Snake grunt suddenly, and he saw that blood was flowing from Snake's leg. Snake had swum right into a piece of coral. The shark noticed it, and swum right towards Snake. Snake waved his arm forward, and Raiden started swimming as fast as he possibly could towards one of the holes.

Raiden suddenly heard a gunshot. He looked back, saw that Snake had grabbed the shark, and shot it directly in the stomach. But it was still alive. It thrashed about, trying to get to Snake. Snake had swung himself up until he was right on top of the shark, and he gripped it in a bear hug, trying to get off another shot at it. Raiden suddenly heard a loud click from behind him. Looking up slightly, Raiden saw that a torpedo was being cocked. Raiden tried contacting Snake on his Codec, but he wouldn't respond. Finally, the torpedo fired. Raiden looked over at Snake, seeing that when he had swung up, the device had fallen off his belt. Snake looked up, and saw the torpedo heading straight towards him and the shark. Snake swum down, keeping the shark at bay. Raiden could see that Snake was getting tired. He wouldn't last much longer.

Finally, the torpedo came. Snake made a well-placed hit on the shark's stomach, and knocked it up. It floated up a few feet, until it decided to charge towards Snake again. It was just about to do so, when the torpedo came straight towards them. It impaled the shark on its side, and propelled it far away. Snake grabbed his device, and put it back on his belt. Snake started swimming towards Raiden fast, and Raiden followed his lead. They both swam through the hole.

They ended up swimming through a tunnel after they got in the hole. As they swum, they heard the torpedo explode behind them. They both stopped, and looked behind them. The force of the explosion had just carried all the way through to the tunnel. Raiden and Snake were both caught in the force, and propelled rapidly forward. Raiden couldn't see Snake through all of the bubbles. He had lost him. The force was painful on Raiden's body. He grunted loudly, until finally, it ended. Raiden, with his last ounce of energy, looked around. But Snake was nowhere to be seen.

Raiden swum up the rest of the way, and found himself in what seemed to be the sewers. Luckily, they were clean right now. Well, as clean as sewers can be. He swam some more, until small grates started to appear above him. Sewer grates, leading into the base. Raiden looked up into the first one. There was a Marine standing above him. Raiden decided to swim some more. Eventually, on the eighth grate, it was a clear coast. He pushed the grate up, and climbed through, into a bathroom.

He was in.


	6. Alone

Chapter 6

Alone

Raiden was lying on his back on the floor of the bathroom, trying to catch his breath. He painfully reached up to touch his ear and activate his Codec. 

"Snake…? You…are you there, Snake?" Raiden waited a few moments, until he realized that all he heard was static. Apparently, the Codec had been slightly damaged. Raiden knew that the Codec should start repairing itself soon, but it would be awhile. Raiden looked around the bathroom. Nothing too interesting to speak of. There were showers scattered around the room, urinals and toilets along the walls, and the entire room was covered in a dirty white brick color. Raiden groaned, and stood up.

He leaned against one of the showers to regain his balance. And then he decided to acknowledge the situation. He was in enemy territory. He was on a suicide mission. And he was now all alone. At first, it was bad enough that it was two on one hundred. Now it's one on one hundred.

"It's the Big Shell all over again." Raiden said to himself. He shook his head, and started to walk. There was one single door on the far wall. He walked towards it, and gripped the handle, when he heard voices on the other side.

"Can't believe there was all that ruckus just for a shark…" one voice said, and the door opened. Raiden hid himself behind the door as it opened. Two men walked into the room, over to two urinals. Raiden assumed a crouching position, and hid behind a shower, where he could spy on them easily. He drew his SOCOM, and got a good look at them. Both of them were wearing camouflage, which could mean they were one of the last remaining Marines, or they were terrorists. One had dark brown hair, the other had dirty blonde hair. 

"I can't believe that the defense systems around this place still screw up…I thought they were supposed to be the best defenses in the world." The second said. They both flushed the urinals, and walked for the door again. Raiden crept along until his back was facing the opposite side of original sneaking viewpoint. He looked at them again. 

"Alright, see you later." The brown-haired man said. The blonde-haired person nodded, and they walked in separate directions, just as the door closed behind them. Raiden quickly got up, and opened the door just a crack. They both had their backs to him. Raiden looked at the blonde-haired one, and he crept along behind him. Eventually, both of the Marines went around a corner. Raiden pressed himself against the wall, and peeked around it. There were three other Marines. 

"Did you get more info?" one asked.

"No," the blonde marine said. "I tell you, some of these soldiers are utter morons. Trusting their entire lives to a computer…any news from the top?" Raiden watched with interest. These men were definitely not Marines.

"None." One said. The blonde cursed. 

"What the hell is he waiting for? We practically own the damn base now. All we have to do is carry out the remainder of our objectives, and it's not like there's a lot." He shook his head.

"Well, the boss did want us to patrol more carefully." One timid looking man said. The blonde soldier looked at him.

"What, because of that glitch? Dammit, computers screw up from time to time. Why can't anyone see that?" The blonde rubbed his eyes. "Alright, it's nearly time for the security cameras to run out again. I'm gonna go take out that Johnson I was talking to." The man looked around at the group. "You. Come with me." He pointed to a brown-haired man, and they started walking in Raiden's direction. Raiden gulped. He ran ahead of them, and back into the bathroom, peeking out from the door. He waited until they passed, and he followed closely behind them. Raiden could just dimly see the outline of the brown-haired soldier. The blonde terrorist was looking closely at a watch on his arm.

"Five…four…three…two…fire." The other soldier suddenly raised his pistol, which had a silencer attached to it, and he fired. The Marine in the distance fell.

"Well, at least now it's official." The other marine said. "We own the base." The blonde nodded to him.

"Hide the body and switch with him, quickly." The soldier nodded, and raced over to the corpse. The blonde walked back to his former post. Raiden again waited until he walked by, and he grabbed the soldier. He kept his hand over the guard's mouth, and dragged him back into the bathroom. The terrorist struggled against Raiden, until Raiden threw him onto the floor, pointing his gun at him.

"Freeze!" Raiden shouted. The terrorist remained. 

"So, it wasn't a glitch after all…" the man said.

"What's your name?" Raiden asked.

"You can call me John." The man said. His hand started to creep closer to his waist.

"Freeze!" Raiden repeated, moving closer. John chuckled, and stood still. Suddenly, his leg lunged towards Raiden's knee, and knocked him down. John ran further back into the bathroom, until he rolled forward, and hid behind a shower. Raiden moaned, and stood up. A silenced gunshot was heard, pieces of brick shattering right behind Raiden. Raiden ran forwards, and hid behind another shower. Gunshots fired again towards Raiden, coming extremely close to him. Raiden crept out from behind the covers of the shower, and fired his silenced SOCOM at the man, but barely missed.

"Is that all you've got?" John called out.

"You're not much better off." Raiden replied. He again crept out, and shot at John some more. Finally, he heard a groan of pain.

"Argh!" John cursed loudly, and Raiden was afraid that guards outside would hear. But Raiden was lucky. Raiden ran forward, closer to John, when John himself popped up.

"Fooled you, didn't I?" John raised his pistol, and fired repeatedly. Raiden rolled to the side, and raised to a kneeling position. He fired his gun repeatedly at John, until three successful bullets had punctured John's face. John crumpled to the ground, dead. Raiden stood up, breathing a sigh of relief. He walked over to the corpse. Raiden considered that a waste of time. He didn't get any information at all, and now, the other guards were going to get suspicious. Raiden picked up the guard's gun. He was in luck. He had a SOCOM too. Raiden emptied out the ammo, and added it to his supply. He started to walk away, when an idea came to him. He turned around, looking at John. 

Raiden and John looked rather similar. Talk about luck. Raiden walked closer to John, and took off the Marine uniform. Raiden put it on over his Skull Suit, and he hid the body. Raiden pushed up his hair so the long part on the back was hidden under his hat. He walked out of the bathroom and over to the guards. The guards nodded to him.

"Successful?" One asked. Raiden nodded his head. The terrorists grinned. Raiden started walking off past them, keeping a cool air about him. "See you later." The terrorists said. Raiden was very lucky. From what it seemed, he had stolen the uniform from a high-ranking terrorist. This would make things a lot easier. Raiden could get most of his objectives done wearing this. He just hoped that he wouldn't be discovered, like the last time he wore a disguise…


	7. Vamp

Chapter 7

Vamp

Raiden moved steadily along the pathways of the base. He constantly felt under the harsh gaze of enemy eyes. As soon as he left his entry area, he felt a constant…suspicion about the terrorists. He had thought he had been discovered more than once, thought that he should have done a certain thing or spoken something to someone. But the terrorists were not suspicious, and for that, Raiden was grateful.

It would be so much easier if Snake were here, Raiden thought. When you were around somebody like Solid Snake, you just felt that the impossible could happen. He had a certain air about him, that of a man who knows what he's doing even in the harshest of conditions. He always kept a calm voice, even under extreme circumstances. Raiden had read, in the book "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses" by Nastasha Romanenko, that Snake had even used this particular skill at the Shadow Moses uprising. He was a lone agent, infiltrating a heavily guarded island that was under patrol by genetically enhanced supersoldiers, the best soldiers in the world, and the most feared weapon in the world, before Metal Gear RAY's existence, of course. After all, RAY had been specifically designed to combat the threat of pirated copies of Metal Gear REX.

Raiden eventually came to the hallway, which he, Snake and Otacon had seen at Philanthropy Headquarters. This hallway housed the heavyset door. Raiden had no idea about how far up his disguise would take him clearance wise, but Raiden didn't want to test it. Better safe than sorry. The two guards nodded to him as he passed by. Raiden needed to know what was on the other side of that door. He didn't know what was on the other side, but Raiden knew that it was something important.

"…re…e…Ra…en? …me…den?" Raiden's Codec suddenly scrambled to life. It was still malfunctioning, but at least it worked.

"This is Raiden. Otacon, do you read?"

"Ple…ply…" Raiden silently swore. Apparently, he could hear them, but they couldn't hear him. He was about to try again when a soldier came up to him.

"Sir!" the guard saluted, a motion that Raiden returned. "Sir, you are requested to come with me. They want to see you. Now." Raiden didn't know who they were, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had been discovered. A wave of fear echoed throughout Raiden's body. But he had no choice. He nodded, and motioned the soldier to lead the way. The soldier started walking off, Raiden following closely. It was unlikely that he would survive this meeting, but at least Raiden would discover whom the ringleaders behind this operation first. 

Eventually, they came to a door with a keypad next to it. The soldier typed in a few random keys and the door opened automatically. They walked in, and down a long hallway. The hall seemed to stretch forever, as Raiden came closer and closer to his rather undesirable fate. Along the hallway were diagonal support beams, holding it up. It added for a futuristic look to the base, but it also made it seem more like a prison somehow.

Finally, they reached the end. And beyond the door lay a group of men. There was a large, brown table set in the middle of the room. Seated at the head of the table was a heavyset man dressed in Marine camouflage clothing. The owner of the uniform had apparently been named Orion. He had black hair and blue eyes, and was slightly tanned. Seated at his left and right were two men. The one on the left was dressed in a suit, which seemed out of place in a combat zone such as this. He wore glasses and featured curly brown hair and piercing brown eyes. But the look shining from those same eyes seemed enough to kill someone simply by staring. The one on the right was also wearing military camouflage, but his form seemed more appropriate for the uniform. He was well built, dark skinned, and had green eyes. He had black hair in the style of a crew cut. Raiden had the impression that he was an actual Marine here even before the terrorists took over.

Finally, there was one last man standing behind the center person. Raiden assumed that he was the man's personal bodyguard. Raiden only began to look away from the man when he focused his eyes on him once more. There was something…familiar about him, but it was hard to place. Finally, Raiden realized it. The bodyguard of what seemed to be the ringleader of the takeover was none other than Vamp, the sole survivor of the group Dead Cell.

Vamp. A name that Raiden feared. Raiden had met him on the Big Shell, and feared him even after their first meeting. Raiden vividly remembered it. He had walked down a hallway, only to find it covered in blood. Raiden went inside a room to find Vamp decimate an entire division of a SEAL Team. If Snake hadn't come into the room at that exact moment, Vamp would have killed Raiden as well. Later, Raiden fought Vamp in a battle of guns against knives. But Raiden gained the upper hand, and managed to knock Vamp into a pool of water full of oxygen. To quote Vamp, "Once you go down, you don't come up."

Later, when Emma Emmerich was walking along the oil fence to get to Shell 1 of the Big Shell, Vamp had risen again. Raiden had successfully managed to use his sniper rifle and defeat Vamp yet again, convincing him to let go of Emma. Raiden thought he had killed the man. Four bullets to the head is not something that you can just walk away from. But there was no mistaking it; the man standing before Raiden was Vamp, the bisexual man who feasted on blood. Raiden only hoped that Vamp would not recognize him.

As soon as Raiden entered the room, he saluted, along with the other members of the room. The escorting soldier stood of to the side, probably feeling awkward and out of place. After looking at him for some time, the men finally began to speak.

"As you know, a half an hour ago a torpedo was fired, presumably at a human being," the man in the middle said. "We soon learned, however, that it was a glitch in the programming, moments after the torpedo hit an innocent shark. But a glitch is extraordinarily rare with these constantly updated systems. Although it is possible for a glitch to happen, the others and me are still concerned about our current…takeover. If this operation is to proceed, we can't have any accidents at all. There is a chance that it might have been nothing, just the same chance that there might have been something. I want you to take your unit and see if you can locate this man. Understood?" Raiden nodded. "Good. You are dismissed."

Raiden was amazed. That was all he was requested for? And Vamp hadn't recognized him. It seems the tables were slowly turning in Raiden's favor. Unfortunately, the day hadn't been won yet. Raiden needed to know more about these men. Raiden would ask Otacon about it as soon as the Codec was repaired. Raiden turned to leave, when he heard something. Somebody was sniffing. And Raiden had a good idea on who it was.

"What is it, Vamp?" the dark skinned man asked, as Raiden turned around. Vamp was looking directly at Raiden. He cocked his head as he stared at him, and then, he grinned.

"Nothing. It was nothing."


	8. Lone Warrior

Chapter 8

Lone Warrior

He knew. Raiden knew this. Vamp knew that he was Raiden. But why hadn't Vamp exposed him for what he was? Soldiers could have been in the room in seconds. Vamp could have taken out Raiden single-handedly. So, why didn't he do it? These questions flared through Raiden's mind.

'I shouldn't be here…' Raiden thought to himself. 'I should be at home with Rose…I don't even know what I'm doing here. As far as I know, Snake is dead. I'm all alone, in enemy territory. And all I can do is wait for the Codec.' Raiden suddenly remembered the request given to him by the superiors of this takeover. He was to make 'his' unit try to find Snake, if he was still alive. But, naturally, there were problems with that for Raiden.

For one thing, obviously, Raiden didn't want Snake to die. He needed all the help he could get. So, he needed to find out a way to dispose of the unit without blowing his cover. But there were going to be problems even before the unit could begin their fake search. Naturally, Raiden needed to issue a command for the search to begin, but he wasn't entirely sure that he could perfectly mimic the voice of his uniform donor. Raiden remembered from his VR Training on Shadow Moses a man named Decoy Octopus. He had a unique skill, that of being the ultimate undercover agent. He had his jawbone, nose bone, and ears removed so that he could substitute them with holes. He could perfectly mimic the voice and accent of any man that he was disguised as.

'Oh, what I'd give to be him right now…' Raiden thought. Finally, Raiden came upon his unit. There was only four standing in front of him, all of which saluted him. Raiden saluted them back, while trying to size them up. The smallest one seemed new. He was skinny, lightweight, and it almost seemed as if he was shaking. From then up, the size and supposed strength of the men rapidly increased. From then on, a plan formed in Raiden's mind. He could take out each of them, one by one. The problem was how? But he would get to that later. Raiden practiced the previous owner of this uniform's voice in his mind, but it was too rough for Raiden to mimic. Luckily, the soldier that escorted him to the room with Vamp in it continued to stand by his side. Raiden thought quickly, and nodded towards the man. The soldier took the hint.

"Yes, uh…the word from the top is that there's a possibility that the glitch earlier today might not be a glitch. They are requesting you to try to find this intruder, if there is one." Raiden nodded to the man, who saluted to Raiden, and left. Raiden started to walk ahead of the group, and motioned them to follow. He could hear their boots echoing on the metal flooring. 

'So far, so good…' thought Raiden. But now he needed to find a way to eliminate them. If Snake was alive, there was a chance that they could find him. Snake would be outnumbered. They rounded a corner, walking down a long hallway. They eventually came to a part of the hall where there were two doors on either side. An idea formed in Raiden's mind. He motioned two soldiers to go into the one on the left. Raiden went into the one on the right with the two smallest and weakest soldiers. Raiden was amazed that nobody had discovered him yet, due to his lack of wanting to talk. But sure enough, nobody seemed suspicious, which was good. 

Raiden let the two men walk ahead of him a bit. A clever idea formed in his mind, but he just needed the right location. He scanned the area as they passed. There was nothing special in here. It seemed to be a storage area. There were racks containing food, and boxes scattered around the room. As they walked, Raiden saw one that was empty. He stopped and stared at it for a moment. Perfect. He slowly pushed it up, and climbed under it. He barely fit in the thing, but it was good enough. He kept a small crack open so that his voice wasn't muffled, and then he let out a small scream. At the end of the scream, he added a sudden stop, making it seem as if he was quickly silenced. He could hear the soldiers turn around, their grinding boots echoing in the stillness. Raiden could hear them moving closer and closer to the box. Raiden raised his SOCOM pistol underneath it.

Eventually, they moved past him. Raiden lifted up the box just a small bit, just to see them. The weaker one was behind the other by a few steps. Raiden could use that. As slowly as he could, he lifted up the box, and got out from underneath it. He crept towards the men, making sure not to make any sound whatsoever. He quickly put his arm in front of the closest one, and draped his hand around the man's mouth, muffling his screams. Raiden dragged him back to a corner of the wall, out of sight of the other soldier. A curtain of shadows blocked it. Raiden dragged the man over to these shadows, before applying pressure on his neck. The man went limp in Raiden's arm, his neck broken. Raiden propped him up against the wall, making sure that the shadows covered him.

Raiden could hear the startled gasp of the remaining soldier. Apparently, he had just discovered that his partner had disappeared. Raiden thought quickly. He found a box, full of supplies, on the opposite side of the wall from where the solider was. Raiden hid behind the box, making sure the box was a small bit away from the wall. There was no way the man could see him. Raiden waited a few moments, and crept out to look at the man. He was positively frightened. Raiden could then see him lifting up his radio. But he couldn't have that, now could he. Raiden raised his pistol, and fired a silenced shot squarely at the radio. It was a perfect hit. The man couldn't call for backup.

But this frightened him even more. He turned and ran for the door as fast as he could. Raiden stood up, and aimed through the empty spaces of the rack in front of him. He fired a single bullet, which hit the man dead in the back of the head. He hit the ground, hard. Raiden walked over to him, and dragged him over to the box he had used. Raiden lifted it up, and put the man underneath it. He was perfectly hidden. But he still had two more soldiers to worry about. And they didn't look like they were going to be as easy.

Raiden walked back out into the hallway, moving slowly and carefully. His pistol was drawn. He walked into the other room, making absolutely certain not to make a single sound. This room was also a supply room it seemed. But this one was less organized. Almost every box in the room was overturned; food was all over the floor. Either a Marine was a complete moron, or the terrorists were very thorough in their search. He suddenly saw the glow of a flashlight on the wall on the other side of the room. Raiden hid behind an overturned box, letting only the slightest bit of him pop out so that he could see what was going on.

"What was that!" one shouted. The other moved up close to him. They were moving closer to the wall. Raiden squinted through the darkness, and saw that there was a vent close to the ceiling. That must be what they were looking at. Raiden had a clear shot, however. He could use their current distraction. He raised his pistol, aimed…

The ceiling behind the two soldiers collapsed, a single figure falling behind them. He fell with grace, his trenchcoat floating behind him. Faster than the human eye could see, the man grabbed the one on the left by the neck, and crushed him into the wall. The soldier screamed, but was quickly silenced when the man stabbed a knife through the man's throat. There was now no mistaking it; Vamp was in the room. The soldier slumped to the ground. The largest soldier raised his gun, but Vamp quickly grabbed it, and used it as a bat of sorts to slam it right into the man's face. Blood fell from his face. Raiden was reminded of the time that he first saw Vamp. Vamp drew his knives, and slashed and stabbed at the man until he was nothing more than a red corpse. Vamp spun around. He seemed to be looking for something. Raiden had an idea whom.

"That should take care of your current difficulties." Vamp spoke. Raiden remained hidden. He did not want a rematch with the man. "You should know that I recognized you in the meeting room," his voice echoed out, in his usual style of seeming to relish every word he spoke. "If you wanted to know why, I direct you to Shadow Moses…" Raiden had a strange expression on his face. Shadow Moses? Raiden could hear Vamp moving closer and closer to him. "Solid Snake was searching for a man. Along the way, a ninja appeared in front of him. It was revealed to be Gray Fox, Solid Snake's former comrade, whom he had supposedly killed in Zanzibar Land. Gray Fox returned solely for the fact that he wanted a rematch with Solid Snake. And that is exactly what I want with you." Raiden shut his eyes in fear. 

Vamp was one of the most powerful opponents he had fought in the Big Shell. He had gotten lucky that time. There wasn't much cover for Vamp to hide behind in the area he had defeated him in. But now, there was cover everywhere you looked. Raiden looked straight at the door. It was only a few feet away from him. But Vamp possessed unmatched speed. He could get to Raiden in a matter of seconds. So, there was only one thing left for Raiden to do.

Raiden rolled out from behind his cover, and raised his gun straight at Vamp, who was amazingly closer than Raiden had anticipated. Vamp knocked the pistol out of Raiden's hands, sending it flying.

"I'm pleased to see your cooperation with my wishes. But you won't defeat me with guns this time." Vamp stepped back from Raiden, allowing him to stand up.

"Why should I fight you, Vamp?" Raiden asked. Vamp chuckled.

"I'm going to kill you either way, so it doesn't seem to matter." He grinned, and raised his fists defensively. "Come on! Give me your best shot!"


	9. Duel

Chapter 9

Duel

Raiden stared at Vamp for a moment, not saying anything.

"You're crazy." He finally said. Vamp simply grinned. "I'm not going to fight you, Vamp."

"You're afraid. I can tell. You beat me before, but that's what scares you most, that you don't know how you did it." Vamp seemed to take pleasure in his words.

"I'm not afraid." Raiden suddenly felt a wave of energy surge through him.

"You're acting like you are." Vamp stood silent after this last remark, simply staring at Raiden. Finally, Vamp made the first move. He charged at Raiden, sending a quick punch towards Raiden's face. Raiden stepped to the side, and rolled forward. He ran away from Vamp. He knew that Vamp would catch up to him quickly. After all, he had enhanced speed. But Raiden could use that. He managed to at least make it to the other wall. He heard Vamp's footsteps behind him, which was good. Raiden leapt in the air, kicking off the wall. He turned around in the air, sending a flying kick towards Vamps' chest, when Vamp ran straight into it. He fell to the ground.

"Good." Vamp said, standing up. "I see you still possess your magnificent skills. This could be interesting."

"Face it, Vamp. You're done. You're the only survivor of a group of ragtag fools." Raiden could see the cold rage in Vamp's eyes at this remark. He charged forward, gripping Raiden by his shirt, and slammed Raiden into the wall. Raiden groaned. His back felt as if it was on fire. He raised his leg, lashing it out at Vamp's chest. It hit three times, but each time, Vamp didn't move. He placed his hand around Raiden's neck, and began to apply pressure. Raiden started to gag. He lashed out with his leg again, until he hit Vamp's knife on his waist. The knife flew out of the small sheath, and fell towards Vamp's foot, cutting straight into it. Vamp let out an audible cry of pain and let go of Raiden, falling to his knees to remove the knife. Blood was seeping out of the shoe. Raiden used this as a distraction. He quickly slammed his knee into Vamp's face, knocking him to the ground. Raiden ran.

Raiden could hear Vamp groaning in pain. Raiden dove towards where he knew his pistol was, and landed on his back, gripping his pistol tightly, as Vamp ran towards him. Raiden fired three times, and three bullet holes appeared on Vamp's chest. Vamp fell while running. Raiden knew that wouldn't stop him. At the Big Shell, Raiden had shot a bullet through his head, and Vamp lived. But it gave Raiden time to run. He ran out of the room, as far away from the room as he could. 

He ran as fast as he could, down a long hallway. He was panting heavily. He hid in the shadows of a corner on the wall, trying to catch his breath. As if Vamp wasn't mad enough before, thought Raiden. Raiden knew that Vamp wouldn't stop looking for him. As if in answer to that revelation, Raiden suddenly heard footsteps down the hallway. Raiden peeked one eye out from his hiding place, and saw a figure wrapped in shadow. There was blood dripping as the figure walked. Raiden slowly raised his pistol, and cocked it. The figure stopped, obviously hearing the pistol. 

"You'll have to do better than that." Vamp said. The figure suddenly dashed towards Raiden's hiding spot at top speed. Raiden rolled off to the side, letting the man crash into the wall. Raiden dropped on his back, and planted a foot square in Vamp's waist. He quickly stood up, holstering his pistol as he did so. There was no use wasting any more ammo on him. Raiden raised his fists. Vamp turned around, obviously in pain.

"Ah. You're finally ready to fight a fair fight. Good." Vamp charged towards Raiden, his fist extended. Raiden dodged to the side, knocking Vamp in the back of the head with his elbow. Vamp didn't seem to mind, as he was already trying to trip Raiden up with his leg. Raiden was knocked on his back. He saw Vamp rush towards him, and Raiden planted both his feet in Vamp's chest. Raiden pushed as hard as he could, which knocked Vamp right back into the wall. Raiden stood up, and charged towards Vamp. He punched him repeatedly in the stomach. Vamp planted his knee in Raiden's face, and threw him away. 

Raiden shook his head, blood dripping off it. He saw through his bloody eyes Vamp walking menacingly towards him. Raiden ducked beneath a punch, and he grabbed Vamp's leg. Raiden kicked his leg out towards Vamp's other leg, tripping him up. While he was in the air, Raiden pushed on Vamp's leg, catapulting him through the air. Vamp twisted his body, and bounced his legs off the wall. Raiden dropped to the floor, and kicked repeatedly as Vamp flew overhead. Vamp dropped to the floor. Raiden wiped his eyes clean, standing up. Vamp was still, lying on his stomach. Raiden slowly got closer, until he was right next to the unmoving form. Raiden got on his knees. Vamp's eyes slowly opened. Raiden reached down towards Vamp's belt, and unsheathed one of Vamp's knives. Raiden pointed the knife right at Vamp's nose.

"Don't you dare move." Raiden whispered. Vamp merely chuckled. 

"You don't know how to use that, boy." Vamp whispered back. Unknown to Raiden, Vamp sharply moved his leg, tripping Raiden in the air. Vamp grabbed the knife as it flew, and slashed Raiden on the chest. Raiden gasped hard, blood staining the uniform. Raiden landed on the ground. Vamp smiled, his eyes flashing. Vamp raised his leg, and prepared to deal the finishing moves on Raiden. Raiden painfully moved up his arms, and blocked Vamp's kick. Raiden grabbed hold of both of his legs, and forced Vamp to the ground next to him. Raiden quickly planted his right elbow into Vamp's chest. Raiden got up on his knees, panting heavily from his wound. Raiden punched Vamp repeatedly in the face, and forced his knee into his neck. Vamp was gasping. 

Raiden simply glared at him, and stood up, looking at his fallen foe, struggling to breathe. Raiden raised his left leg, and forced it down as fast and as hard as he could, landing it in Vamp's groin. Vamp suddenly stopped moving, his eyes wide with pain, his face twitching. Vamp's eyes closed, and he was unmoving. Raiden glared at him. He picked up the knife used to cut Raiden's stomach, and unwrapped a sheath from Vamp's belt. He wrapped the sheath around his belt, placing the knife in it. Raiden picked up Vamp's unmoving form, and hid him in the shadows. Raiden drew his pistol, and started creeping down the hallway.

Raiden's disguise was destroyed, so he knew that he had to begin his sneaking. But he would need help. Raiden raised two fingers to his neck, and activated his Codec.

"Otacon, this is Raiden, do you read me? Otacon?" 

"Oh, my God, you're alive Raiden. This is Otacon. I read you."

"Otacon, where's Snake?"

"Nowhere where you can reach him, Raiden. He's down in the lower levels. When you got separated, Snake surfaced in a sewer grate right in the middle of enemy soldiers, who escorted him to their cell blocks. I think that I can hack into the private communication channels in the base, and see what's going on. I now have one less thing to worry about. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Alright. Otacon, as you might've known, Vamp, from the Big Shell, was in this base."

"Yes, I knew. He was one of the men that brought Snake down to the prison."

"Well…I think I might've killed him."

"What?" Raiden relayed the events of the fight to Otacon. There was silence afterwards. "Well, that's good. We all have one less thing to worry about now."

"I need to know what I should do now, Otacon."

"Alright. I've just hacked into the private channels, and I just received word of a secret meeting between two of the ringleaders. One of them is named Brian Larington." Raiden received a sudden image from his Codec, which flashed about his mind. The man was the person who dressed in the suit at the meeting. "The other man is a Michael Fisher." The image of the dark-skinned man from the meeting was shown to Raiden. Raiden nodded. "The meeting is going to take place in the Comms Room of the base. I need you to sneak into the room, and spy on the meeting."

"You got it."

"Otacon, out." The Codec transmission ended. Raiden started to walk down the hallway, reading the signs directing him to the Comms Room. He didn't realize, however, that as he left the hallway, there was a lone security camera perched on the ceiling that spied on his battle and his retreat. But no alarm was given.


End file.
